The Van Buren Board of Education has fired Superintendent Michael Van Tassel, on the heels of a scandal involving test scores. Several hundred people filled the cafeteria at Belleville High School. Among Van Tassal’s critics were former teachers who spoke about a climate of intimidation from the top. The problems erupted with an investigation of fraud at Savage Road Elementary School. Five teachers were removed for feeding students the answers to state tests in order to falsely raise their scores. The test scores were thrown out by the state. In January, a freshman student brought a handgun to Belleville High School. The student told administrators he feared for his safety. The school’s principal made a decision along with Van Tassel not to send out an alert to parents about the incident. The board named Van Buren Human Resources Director Shonta Langford-Green as the interim superintendent.
